Ring-shaped electrode and manufacturing method for same

Abstract

An electrode structure and a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit electrode includes forming a bottom electrode comprising a pipe-shaped member, filled with a conductive material such as n-doped silicon, and having a ring-shaped top surface. A disc-shaped insulating member is formed on the top of the pipe-shaped member by oxidizing the conductive fill. A layer of programmable resistance material, such as a phase change material, is deposited in contact with the top surface of the pipe-shaped member. A top electrode in contact with the layer of programmable resistance material.

Description

PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT[0001]International Business Machines Corporation, a New York corporation; and Macronix International Corporation, Ltd., a Taiwan corporation, are parties to a Joint Research Agreement.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to ring-shaped electrodes usable in high density memory devices based on programmable resistance material, like phase change based memory materials, and to methods for manufacturing such devices.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]Chalcogenide materials are widely used in read-write optical disks. These materials have at least two solid phases, generally amorphous and generally crystalline. Laser pulses are used in read-write optical disks to switch between phases and to read the optical properties of the material after the phase change.[0006]Chalcogenide materials also can be caused to change phase by application of electrical current. This property has generated int...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]The present invention includes devices and methods to form an electrode structure for an integrated circuit devi

Problems solved by technology

One problem associated with phase change memory devices arises because the magnitude of the current required for reset operations depends on the volume of phase change material that must change phase.

Thus, cells made using standard integrated circuit manufacturing processes have been limited by the minimum feature size of manufacturing equipment.

Thus, techniques to provide sublithographic dimensions for the memory cells must be developed, which can lack uniformity or reliability needed for large scale, high density memory devices.

One problem with ring-shaped electrodes arises from the increased resistance due to the small cross-sectional area o

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